Marlin, Winndixie and Pirate
Our three quarantined mules are doing very well! Pirate was having a really hard time being by himself to the point his appetite wasn’t the best. He is doing much better now that he has friends, and all 3 of these mules have become much friendlier the last couple weeks. Marlin even allowed us to halter and walk him from the barn to the pen without any biting! They got lots of attention and treats during the event weekend which helped with their behavior as well. 💙
Romanticizing spring vaccine day this year for almost 100 mules… Follow us on TikTok @mulerescue to see more video content! If we can get 100,000 video likes by the end of this month on TT, we will become monetized! 💙
Taking off Marlin’s halter
First off, I’m sorry that my body ends up blocking the view in most of this video! I did not realize until after.
So one of our newest mules, Marlin, I have quickly diagnosed with a severe biting problem. He arrived with an old, ratty halter still on, which I take note of to usually mean the mule is very head shy, but it can also be a red flag for behaviors like biting, although far less common (in my experience with over 200 rescued mules in 5 years).
Marlin was confident about facing me in the trailer, I noticed. I was easily able to clip the lead rope on and lead him off the trailer. The reason why the halter is still on became clear moments later when I tried to adjust it and he tried to bite my bicep area with the speed of a rattlesnake! His teeth audibly clipped together, and rather than immediately feel afraid of him, my interest was peaked by this behavior. Mules who are very anxious when they arrive can be a bit lippy and nippy, more-so with the intent to create space than to actually make contact with their teeth. This is what is referred to as a fight response. It’s usually after a flight response in which they realize they can’t get away. In Marlin’s case, after the bite he held his ground with forward energy and what I refer to as “shark-eyes” - very wide, glazed, unblinking eyes. In that moment, I could envision how this behavior played out for him previously. He expected me to either fight back or back off. To me, this shows a well-developed habit. Thankfully, I have pretty good reflexes after a lot of experience handling wild, feral mules, so he did not make contact. But sadly, if this had been a less-experienced, unassuming new owner, it could have been a serious injury.
Marlin was mostly willing to walk into the barn and into a stall. Despite the anxiety he is surely feeling today, I can tell he is a confident kind of mule. I knew I needed to get Marlin’s halter off for his own safety, and I was by myself this evening. I have th
Look who’s here!! It took a good bit of patience to get them into a stall, the little Molly is quite the kicker and the bigger John is a very severe biter (video coming). I asked our ranchhand Abigail to name the baby mule, and she chose Winndixie. 😊 I have named the gelding Marlin! Thank you to everyone who helped us get them at this weekends auction as, behaviorally, they were both absolutely in need of a place with mule expertise before someone was injured or these problems were made worse by lack of proper handling.
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https://lmmr.networkforgood.com/projects/158547-lost-meadows-mule-refuge (automatic email tax receipt)
P.O. Box 479 Caldwell, Texas 77836
Happy Halloween from Lost Meadows! 👻🎃
Muddy’s EOTRH
VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED! Muddy needed his front incisors extracted today (just his teeth are shown, not the extractions). Lost Meadows rescued Muddy in February 2020 along with 51 other mules, and he was diagnosed with EOTRH at his first dental. We have been managing the condition with bi-annual dentals, but unfortunately it is not treatable and is progressive. Eventually the equine usually loses many of their teeth to the disease - this year Muddy’s remaining incisors have deteriorated to the point of all needing to be extracted today. They were already coming loose on their own and causing him discomfort. The cause of EOTRH is uncertain but may be caused by a combination of factors such as physical trauma or genetics. Muddy will still be able to chew hay properly and much more comfortably now without his front incisors, as his back teeth are in much better shape and not affected by the EOTRH. He is feeling much better now, on pain medication and has a good prognosis for recovery. He is unhandled and can be unsafe, but we will do our best to keep him on stall rest for several days while his mouth heals. Read more about EOTRH here: https://ceh.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/health-topics/equine-odontoclastic-tooth-resorption-and-hypercementosis-eotrh
Here’s some of our small mules waiting in line for a dental this morning! A couple of these faces will go into our training program next year.
Well leak
… It’s always something! 🫠 21 dentals done today, 19 more to do tomorrow… and try to get this fixed.
Raisin gets a dental
Raisin is another dental patient today. This video shows the severe front hook and the protuberant (very overgrown) tooth in the back of his mouth on the left side. His cheek next to that tooth is very chewed up, so he definitely experienced some pain relief today. The video after shows him hanging out while the sedation wears off. He stood nearby stretching his jaw and moving his tongue around for about 20 minutes. He must think it feels really good to be able to chew freely now! 💙
Dentals start today
Our dentist of over 6 years now is down from Missouri to do 40 dentals over the next 2-3 days. Eli is our first dental customer of the day! His teeth say he is about 16 years old. Each dental is $125. If you’d like to help us cover a dental for $50, donate at:
PayPal.me/mulerefuge
https://lmmr.networkforgood.com/projects/158547-lost-meadows-mule-refuge (automatic email tax receipt)
P.O. Box 479 Caldwell, Texas 77836
Pirate arrives at LMMR
Pirate is his name (I think this will make a really cute T-shirt design)!
Our initial plan was to put him in a barn stall so we can work on gentling him during quarantine. After we saw how difficult he was for the previous owners to handle, we decided we should back up to a quarantine pen and let him out loose. When we got back to the Refuge, I decided to try haltering him in the trailer first as turning them out loose can set an expectation in their minds, and I really wanted to have him in a stall.
I didn’t video the process of getting the halter on, but it took about 15 minutes of slow movement, breaking the process down into steps, and making it clear to him that I was not going to punish or hurt him. Once we built up enough rapport, he quietly gave me his head and let me put a halter on. I used a loose rope halter because he had a nylon halter embedded in his skin and there are wounds under his jaw. We then took our time letting him get out of the trailer, and asked him to lead a little at a time to the barn. I noticed that he is definitely more donkey-like in his mannerisms, and is sensitive to tone of voice like donkeys tend to be. Because of our approach there were zero big reactions like rearing or bolting. He is just a baby who has never had things like catching and leading explained to him with patience and reassurance. When I broke them down into steps and acknowledged good behavior, he was perfectly willing to do the right thing. Too often baby equines are labeled as naughty when they are just scared or overwhelmed.
Of course, tomorrow is a new day, but today we made a good first impression.
PayPal.me/mulerefuge
https://lmmr.networkforgood.com/projects/158547-lost-meadows-mule-refuge (automatic email tax receipt)
P.O. Box 479 Caldwell, Texas 77836
Griffin in the barn
One of our recent rescues, Griffin, is being moved into a stall in our barn until his vet appointment at A&M on Friday as he is developing some type of scabby skin condition that will need to be biopsied and treated. We will also get X-rays of his front feet to see how severe his ringbone is, so we can develop a plan for managing it and monitoring any changes as time goes by. I haven’t talked much about Griffin, but he is a really sweet and handsome boy that we have all fallen for here. He was rescued by Lost Meadows at auction for $500 in September this year. He was missing weight and lame in both front feet, and at risk of being sold to continue being worked or ridden without proper veterinary care. He has definitely been enjoying his time here at Lost Meadows and has become much more relaxed and trusting.
PayPal.me/mulerefuge
https://lmmr.networkforgood.com/projects/158547-lost-meadows-mule-refuge (automatic email tax receipt)
P.O. Box 479 Caldwell, Texas 77836
